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At times, Nigeria feels treated less like a country and more like contraband, meaning something to be seized, divided and protected by a few when challenges arise. Citizens do not have to struggle to know who is in charge, where public funds go, how institutions are formed, or who is responsible when problems occur. Even these simple questions seem like asking for special favors from those in power. Meanwhile, millions of Nigerians are too busy trying to survive to keep asking.
Every day, millions of Nigerians struggle with food, transportation, rent, school fees, medical bills, electricity, and personal safety. Bad leadership comes in the form of hunger, debt, failed businesses, missed school, fear of travel, and shame at not providing a living. Difficulty forces people to focus on food, fare, or the next emergency. Economists call the choices people make under this pressure ‘subtle’.
Families with unstable incomes manage risks by growing different crops, working multiple jobs, borrowing from relatives, skipping meals, or delaying school fees. Others protect motorbikes, land, livestock, or equipment that could help them earn income in the future, even if it means sacrificing their current well-being. These choices may help them survive now, but often worsen poverty in the long term. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs helps explain how this influences politics.
As people struggle for food, shelter, and security, they have little time or energy to follow government budgets, join protests, or demand answers. Just surviving takes all of their efforts, and holding leaders accountable feels out of reach. Politicians take advantage of this fatigue because difficulties keep the public too busy to challenge them. The large number of people living in poverty makes this problem even worse.
In 2022, the National Bureau of Statistics said 63 percent of Nigerians, or about 133 million people, were poor for more than just income. These measures include education, health services, living conditions, employment and safety. Politicians know that a bag of rice, some cash or a short-term subsidy can mean a lot to desperate people. While this aid can help hungry families, it is not the same as real government.
When leaders tolerate conditions that leave communities hopeless and then return with food packages, cameras, and speeches, they help communities deal with the pain rather than avoid it. The family survived for a week, the politician got a photo, and the conditions that caused the hardship remained untouched. It’s like repairing the same damaged road every year, but not repairing the drainage which causes the road to collapse. The same mistakes are repeated when poverty is addressed with palliatives rather than treated at the source.
The rain fell again, drainage failed, and the newly repaired road broke again. Inflation, unemployment, insecurity, damaged schools, damaged hospitals, and unreliable electricity continue to destroy the temporary relief that families receive. The government then celebrates another intervention while citizens remain trapped in the same conditions. This is why Nigeria’s First Lady’s public advice to sell akara or produce kuli-kuli sounds insulting, even though the work itself is an honor.
There is dignity in selling akara, producing coolies, roasting corn, farming, or trading. Many Nigerians are calling for an economy that allows women sellers of akara to become food processors, employers, suppliers or exporters rather than remaining stuck on the brink of survival. Governments should provide space for communities to grow rather than praising them for conditions that keep them small.
Affordable credit, reliable electricity, good roads, security, storage, insurance, and access to markets can turn a surviving business into a thriving enterprise. Comfortable commentators, like some friends I discussed with last week in Ikeja, still call struggling Nigerians lazy and ignore farmers who cannot reach their land safely, traders who have to buy fuel before clearing land, and graduates who have been looking for work for years. Hard work is important, but it cannot replace institutions that make hard work productive. The weakness of these institutions is also visible in how Nigeria now practices democracy.
The Senate president presides over a chamber that is expected to question the executive branch, examine the budget, investigate government failures and restrain presidential overreach. He may not routinely appear as the president’s spokesperson or personal representative. When the Senate President repeatedly speaks for the president or deputizes him on certain occasions, the boundaries between the executive and legislative branches become difficult to discern. Cooperation between the two parties is necessary, but cooperation must not become surrender.
Checks and balances only have meaning when institutions work together without becoming extensions of each other. The Senate loses its purpose when its leadership appears more interested in defending the executive branch than holding it accountable. Citizens lose an important layer of protection when every government agency speaks with the same voice. The PFIPC scandal shows the dangers of allowing authority, responsibility and oversight to become clouded.
The Presidency claims that the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council does not legally exist and accuses Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew of using forged documents and false claims of presidential support. However, the agency reportedly operated from the Federal Secretariat for about two years and emerged in the Appropriation Act of 2026 with funds of about ₦1.3 billion attached to it. Head of the Civil Service Esther Walson-Jack told MPs recently that the office occupied by the PFIPC had been allocated to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. Someone may falsify documents, but he cannot arbitrarily allocate government office space for himself or include state money in acts of confiscation.
Therefore, investigators must know who gave the board access to the office, who knew the office was operating there, who processed the budget input, and who received its official correspondence. President Bola Tinubu has directed the ICPC (Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission) to investigate how an entity disowned by the presidency for being fraudulent could operate from within the Federal Secretariat. The administrative trail is more important than the convenience of pinning the entire scandal on one suspect. Following the trail will surely bring the investigation closer to some of the most powerful offices in government.
The ICPC has confirmed that Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila appeared at its headquarters in Abuja on July 20, 2026, at the invitation of investigators. Gbajabiamila gave a statement, attended questions, and left after spending some time with the commission. The ICPC stated that he had not been arrested and that its investigation was still ongoing. Adeyemi has been arrested, interrogated and tried, leaving a stark contrast in the way people connected to the affair are treated.
Gbajabiamila controls access to the presidency and holds one of the most powerful positions in government. Remaining in the office while investigators examine how the PFIPC acquired public space, budget recognition, and the appearance of official authority cast a shadow over the process. Resigning temporarily would protect the integrity of the investigation and show that powerful officials are not being treated differently from other officials. Loyalty may be valuable in politics, but the reputation of the government should be more important.
Keir Starmer faced serious criticism over his appointment of Peter Mandelson as British ambassador to America despite concerns over Mandelson’s links to Jeffrey Epstein and questions about the vetting process. Mandelson was later removed, while Starmer’s Chief of Staff, Morgan McSweeney, resigned and accepted responsibility for recommending the appointment. The controversy raised doubts about Starmer’s judgment and added to the political pressures surrounding his leadership. Protecting trusted officials can ultimately harm the entire government when the public believes that accountability has been sacrificed for loyalty.
Investors, diplomats, international partners and the general public will judge PFIPC investigations based on how they deal with the weak and the powerful. Every board or public program must have a clear legal basis, identifiable leadership, oversight authority, an approved budget, and auditable records. Calling PFIPC a sham does not explain how PFIPC obtained office space, budget recognition, appointment documents, and access to public institutions. Accountability loses its meaning if it is only applied to those who are easily captured, detained, or victimized.
House committees must identify every official involved in allocating offices, processing budget revenues, opening accounts, or receiving correspondence from the house. The ICPC must also follow the available evidence without stopping at the starting point of political convenience. While Nigeria’s irresponsible attitude has undermined people’s trust in almost every institution, their treatment of human life is even more disturbing.
Sometimes I feel embarrassed discussing Nigeria with people in the United States because of how seriously animal abuse or death is treated there. Cruelty to animals can result in criminal charges, and a necropsy may be performed to determine how the animal died. However, there are human corpses that remain on the side of the road for days in some cities in Nigeria as traffic passes by and no urgent efforts are made to identify the person, contact the family, or investigate the death. The painful question is why human life is less pressing in Nigeria than animal life elsewhere. Mary Habila’s death is especially moving because of these differences.
Mary died on June 27, 2026, at Public Works Minister David Umahi’s residence in Uburu, but it took media coverage, public pressure and growing outrage before serious calls for a forensic examination gained momentum. Sudden death under such circumstances should trigger an immediate and thorough investigation, regardless of who owned the home or how powerful the people associated with it were. Nigerian society should not need journalists, activists and the internet to force the country to value the lives of young women.
Nigeria is not contraband, and should not be managed as the private property of a small group of people. This right also belongs to citizens who do not have political connections, a famous family name, or a voice strong enough to attract national attention. The government must not simply teach society how to alleviate, manage and endure hardships caused by societal failures. The government must eliminate the conditions that keep them poor, protect the living, honor the dead, and put power in the hands of the people equally.
By: Abidemi Adebamiwa
